Russia isn't going away, and this is GARP with governance risk factored. QIWI's services remind me of cell phones in 3rd world countries where the uptake was bigger than 1st world because they were leapfrogging.

I like this company, so I picked to outperform in the long term, however, and I knew this when I picked it, it seems to be fairly valued right now, so I could easily see it stagnate for some time while growth catches up with valuation.

QIWI operates in Russia and the CIS and provides payment services across physical, online and mobile channels. Since Russians are often paid in cash and still rely on cash for bill payments much more than western countries, QIWI sees opportunity for growth by deploying over 11 million virtual wallets, over 169,000 kiosks and terminals to facilitate customers' cash to electronic payment and cash transfers. These kiosks are located through out the shopping districts and neighborhoods.

I have been watching this company since its IPO this spring (2013) and bought a few shares to keep me interested. Their story is certainly one of growth, although I have concerns about the reputation for Russian money laundering and graft which places this quasi banking stock squarely in my speculative portfolio. I am also watching potential competitors' entry into the market. I think the Yandex already offers some similar services and I wonder when e-bay/pay pal will enter the fray. In the meantime I am enjoying the run up in the stock price.

Based in Moscow but incorporated in Cyprus, Qiwi PLC is Russia’s largest operator of nonbank self-service payment kiosks. More than 90% of Russians pay bills and make purchases using cash. Account holders deposit cash into the kiosks for safekeeping and choose screen options to pay bills and move or withdraw money. The company also allows customers to use their cellphones to move money. 2Q13 EPS up 365% on 32% sales increase, strong balance sheet and double-digit op margins. 2013E EPS $1.00, 2014 $1.50. Ox 7-29-13 momentum alert